Sit-up trainer for babies



Feb. 3, 1970 J. L. HICKS Em 3,493,228

SIT-UP TRAINER FOR BABIES Filed Oct. 5. 1967 INVENTOR, 4 UDY L HICKSROBERT THEILER fi A,,m, r4

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,493,228 SIT-UP TRAINER FOR BABIES JudyL. Hicks, 665 Green Drive, and Robert Theilel', 145 N. Fairfield, bothof Susanville, 'Calif. Filed Oct. 3, 1967, Set. No. 672,473 Int. Cl.A63g 31 00; 1363c 9/08; A47c 27/08 US. Cl. 272--1 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A sit-up trainer for babies, in which an annular soft ring isprovided of an inside diameter to loosely encircle the body of a seatedbaby and extend across its lap in front and to the floor or ground atthe back, and of uniform cross-sectional contour and diameter at anypoint therearound, to prevent the baby from injuring its head upon itstoppling or falling over, and to prevent toppling to a degree that itcannot right itself, and which tube includes means associated therewithfor the attachment of toys and which tube may also enclose toys.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Babies at an early age, when seated on thefloor, fall over backward and to the side and are unable to restorethemselves to upright position, and they frequently suffer head injuryby striking the floor with their heads upon falling over, particularlybackward falling.

Activity of movement of the arms and hands at an early age is desirable,and to promote such activity, as well as to gain and to maintain theinterest of babies, it has heretofore been customary to provide a babywith toys or other articles. However, where these are loose, the babyusually throws them beyond reach, and injurious falls occur in anattempt to retrieve them, or if they are attached to a crib or playpen,the baby may fall against the sides of the crib or pen in its play, thusinjuring itself.

In order to avoid the foregoing accidents, it has been customary for themother to seat the baby on the floor and to surround it with pillows.However, the pillows quickly become disarranged and toys or articlesgiven to the baby for its amusement become lost in the pillows or thrownbeyond reach, requiring frequent attention on the part of the mother toreplace the pillows and recover the toys.

The present invention provides, in one device, a means for preventinginjury to the baby from falling in any direction and at the same timeplaces toys and other articles of interest within access of the hands ofthe baby, and maintains them in accessible positions, thus stimulatingthe desired activity of the hands, arms and body, without danger of thebaby falling and injuring itself, yet permitting free falling to adegree in which the baby is able to recover its upright position, thuslearning to do so to the extent that within a short time it is able tocontrol its balance and to learn the movements required for restoringits body to a normal upright position.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device, as abovedescribed, that is sufliciently light in weight to be no burden on ababy when in use, and in this connection, it should be noted that thedevice is adapted for use in a pool in which the baby may be placed, tofloat in the water, in approximately the same position as when usedwhere the baby is seated on the floor, thus giving added interest to thebaby, as well as insuring its safety.

Other advantages and objects will appear in the drawings anddescription.

In the drawings:

3,493,228 Patented Feb. 3, 1970 ice FIG. 1 is a perspective view of theinvention in a position around a seated baby;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the basic element of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective, part sectional viewshowing a portion of the invention including a toy attached thereto;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view, partly in section,of a section of the trainer showing sound-making toys loose therein;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a flexible band adapted toreleasably connect toys to the basic element shown in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An annular tube 1 is preferably ofrelatively thin, but tough, waterproof, resilient and transparentplastic that may be permanently inflated with air, or provided with anair valve 2 (FIG. 4) which valve is conventional and is preferably in aposition around the outer periphery of the tube and out of the sight ofthe baby and where it is not accessible to the latter.

The central opening in the tube is of adequate size to freely encirclethe body of the baby 3, and when one portion of the tube is resting onthe lap of the baby, the opposite side may rest on the floor or groundbehind the baby.

The tube is also preferably of uniform cross-sectional contour at allpoints therearound, and the portion that is adapted to rest on the floorbehind the baby is sulficiently close to the body of the latter, at itsmaximum permitted distance from said body, and is of sufiicient diameterto prevent the baby from falling over and striking the floor with itshead. Also, the diameter of the tube at any point therearound is suchthat the baby, if fallen over, will be supported sufficiently so it mayrecover its original position without the help of another person.

Secured to the tube and in a position at the upper side of the latterwhen the tube is generally horizontal in body encircling relation, areflexible loops or eyes 4, each of which may be inseparably secured tothe tube 1 in any suitable manner. Each loop is preferably of plasticmaterial and sufliciently soft, flexible and resilient so as not toinjure or bruise the baby should they be struck by the latter.

At the position of each eye 4, an annular disc 5 of semi-rigidtransparent plastic material that is preferably integral with or fusedto the tube and with each eye, to form a partition within the tubehaving an opening 6 therein. The openings 6 provide for passage of airfor inflating the tube. The partitions also function to provide a meansfor securely holding the eyes against being torn from the tube inasmuchas the partitions, tube and eyes are substantially integrally united.

Said partitions 5 divide the interior of the tube into a plurality ofcompartments, in suflicient number so that one or more is always infront of, or within view of the baby irrespective of how the tube isinitially positioned, and irrespective of whether or not the tube isrotated by the baby about its body.

Within each compartment is one or more lightweight colorful toys orelements 7 (FIG. 4) that may be of the sound producing kind, whenshaken, such as small rattles or bells in which an outer shell enclosesa loose ball or the like, or the articles may be merely colorfullightweight loose articles that will not pass through holes 6.

The loops or eyes 4 are each adapted to be releasably connected with aband or elongated flexible piece 8 (FIGS. 1, 5), having snap fastenerelements 9 at its ends for releasably securing said ends together afterthe piece 8 is inserted through an eye 4 and through a similar eye oropening in a toy 10.

Obviously, the toys 10 of any desired shape or contour or characteristicmay be permanently or releasably connected with eyes 4, but preferablythey are releasable and removable from the toys to enable quickreplacement of the same or different articles whenever desired. Theconnector 8 should also be of the type that is quickly connected to anytoy having an opening through which the piece may be inserted.

The plastic of tube 1, as heretofore mentioned, is waterproof and tough,therefore the tube may be placed around the baby when it is in a tub orpool, and preferably all exposed parts of the device are also of plasticso as not to rust or corrode.

The partitions 5 prevent the pieces 7 from shifting to the lowest pointin the tube when the latter is in use, which lowest point would bebehind the baby and out of its range of vision. The purpose of thepieces 7 is to keep the babys interest, and when the tube is shaken, thepieces will not only move but will create a sound.

The toys 10 are readily accessible to the baby at its front and sidesand one or more will always be readily viewable by the baby andaccessible to its hands for examination and for play.

The underside of the tube 1 and its lateral inner sides are free fromany projections that would engage the body of the baby, hence the tubemay be readily moved circumferentially or up and down without snaggingon clothing or body, and the baby may shift it around its body in play.

Normally, when the tube encircles the body of a baby seated on thefloor, the baby will grasp the toy or articles it faces and may draw thetube onto its lap or close to the forward side of its body, in whichcase the portion of the tube crossing the rear side of its body must notbe spcaced so far that the head of the child will strike the floor, andpreferably it should not be so distant that the head is snapped forward.Preferably, the diameter of the tube should be such that the tube willengage the body at about the junction between the head and shoulderswhen the baby falls over. The broken lines 11 (FIG. 1) generallyindicate the position of the head of a baby when it falls rearwardly.

If the tube is pushed forward so that the tube is close to the back ofthe body, it will offer almost immediate support against toppling.

However, too small a central opening in the angular tube will restrictthe movement of the baby and its activities are limited.

The diameter of the tube is important in that it provides the desiredsupport for the body of the seated baby under any condition, and alsosupports the toys or articles thereon at the most accessible positions,and will Support the body comfortably in a semi-reclined position whenthe baby is resting.

The articles within the transparent tube provide a constant source ofinterest in that they are not only inaccessible to the baby, thusstimulating the interest of the baby, but will roll around and createsound as the tube is shaken. Being enclosed, there is no restriction onthe type of material from which they are made. They will not become wet,nor can the baby strike them in falling and cause injury to the baby.

As an example of the dimensions of a tube that is adapted to accomplishthe desired results, the cross-sectional diameter of the tube at anypoint therearound may be from approximately four inches. The diameter ofthe central opening may be from approximately ten inches to fourteeninches, thus the outside diameter may be from approximately eighteen totwenty-six inches. With such a tube, the portion behind a baby that isseated on the floor, when the tube is in body encircling relation withthe tube extending across the lap of the baby, is of sufficient heightto provide the required support for preventing the baby from fallingbackward and striking its head on the floor, yet supporting the body tothe extent that the baby may, by itself, recover its seated position.

From the foregoing it is believed evident that the benefits of theinvention are fully realized where the baby is quite young and before ithas developed its sense of balance and control of its movements, and thedevice should be sufficiently light in weight so as to be no burden on ababy, and the weight is such that the baby may readily shake it to causemovement of the articles within and outside the tube.

The annular, or substantially annular, shape of the tube enables it tobe rotated about the body of the baby, and the distribution of toys orother articles of interest thereon and therein, is such as to alwaysprovide a toy or article within easy access to the hands of the baby, orwithin its normal range of vision, so as to maintain the interest of thebaby at all times and to promote activity of the baby to either of itssides as well as at the front.

The partitions themselves are resilient and are not sulficiently stiffand hard as to cause any hurt or injury to the baby in falling againstthe tube. Their principal functions are to prevent the articles in eachsection from all working their way to the rear side of the baby when thedevice is in use and to provide a strong attachment for the loops 4. Thecentral opening enables air communication between all sections from oneinlet. The air within the tube maintains its shape.

It is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not intendedto be limited by the detailed description, but only by the scope of theclaims appended hereto, and that modifications, substitutions andchanges may be made that come within the spirit of the invention and thescope of the claims.

We claim:

1. A trainer for developing the balance and activity of a baby, insafety, comprising:

(a) a generally annular tube of transparent, flexible,

resilient, rubber-like material having a central opening for positioningsaid tube in a position loosely encircling the body of a baby seated onthe floor or ground with one section thereof extending across the legsof the baby and with the sections opposite to said one section behindthe baby and resting on the floor or ground,

(b) articles loosely positioned within said tube for attracting theattention of said baby,

(0) said tube being inflated With air, and the inner and lower sides ofsaid tube being smooth to enable rotation thereof about the body of saidbaby, free from snagging on the clothing or body of the baby.

2. In a trainer as defined in claim 1.

(d) the cross-sectional diameter of said tube at any point therearoundbeing approximately four to six inches, and the diameter of said openingbeing approximately ten to fourteen inches, whereby said oppositelypositioned sections will coact with the floor and body of said baby tosupport the baby aaginst falling and striking its head on the floor, andto support said body in a position to enable the baby to recover itsupright seated position, by itself, when said tube is in body encirclingrelation around the body of a baby seated on the floor.

3. In a trainer as defined in claim 1.

(d) a plurality of adjacent pairs of partitions within said tubeproviding a plurality of compartments within said tube around thecircumferential length thereof, and at least one of said articles beingWithin each compartment.

4. In a trainer as defined in claim 3,

(e) said partitions each being formed with an opening to provide forfree passage of air between compartments, each opening being less thanthe thickness of said articles to prevent passage of an article from onecompartment to another,

(f a valved inlet for inflating said tube With air.

5. In a trainer as defined in claim 3,

(e) separate means at each partition on the upwardly facing side of saidtube for attaching toys or other articles thereto for observation andmanipulation by said baby, each of said means being secured to apartition and to said tube, and

(f) means for releasably securing such toys or articles to said separatemeans.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Walker 9-340 Bucknell 9-11 XBarnes 9-11 X Nail 312-204 Frieder et a1. 9-311 H. W. KRAMER, AssistantExaminer US Cl. X.R.

